Railway.



D. HOFENER. RAILWAY.

PPLICAIN FILED IULY l0. |9|8- 1,289,174, Patented Dec. 3l, 1918.

DAVID I-IOFIENER, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CARL E.

FAHLSTROIVI, OF SMELLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAILWAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

atented Dec. 31, 1.918.

Application filed July 10, 1918. Serial No. 244,133.

.770 all whom t may concern u Be it known that I, DAVID Horrnnn, ya'citi- Zen of the United Sta-tes, and a resident of Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railways, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

The object of this invention is the construction of an improved track rail and tie whereby the rails will be prevented from spreading, which will reduce the number of spikes needed for fastening the rail to the tie, which will automaticallyT insure the accurate spacing of the rails, and will provide certain other improvements hereinafter lset forth.

My improvements consist essentially in forming each tie with an oblique notch near each end, within which the rails are seated, the bottom of each rail resting upon the oblique surface of each notch, while the other surface of each notch overhangs onehalf of the rail flange and thereby holds it in place, the other half of the flange being held by a spike in substantially the usual manner.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a cross section of a railroad track, the tie being shown in elevation and partly in section. Fig. 2 is a cross section of a tie on the dotted line X-X in Fig. 1, a flange of the rail being shown in section; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of parts of a track rail and tie. Fig. L1 is a side elevation of one part of a tie. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the galvanized iron lining.

The ties 1 are preferably composed of wood, but may be of any type now in use, although I have illustrated them as though sawed in accurately rectangular shape. rI`his is not necessary, inasmuch as they may be of the well-known hewn form.

Near each end of the tie 1 is formed an oblique notch 2 whose surface 3 makes an angle of between twenty and thirty degrees with the top of the tie, and sloping downward toward the middle of the tie. The length of this surface 3 is preferably equal to the width of the bottom 4: of the rail 5, and the face 6 of the notch is adapted in angle and length to lie close over the flange 7 of the rail.

The flange 9 of the. rail is confined to the tie by a spike 10 in a well known manner.

I prefer to have the web 11 of the rail rise substantially vertical, and hence oblique to the rail bottom d, thus resembling in general appearance the rails now in general use on steam roads, and also better supporting the heavy downward pressure of the wheels running thereon. Y

For cheaper railroads, the rails may lie directly upon the surfaces 3 of the notches, as illustrated in Fig. 3, but I prefer to introduce between the rails and ties galvanized iron linings 12 designed to inclose both surfaces 3 and 6 of the notches 2. This lining is formed with flanges 13, 1a adapted to lit beside the tie and to have nails 15 driven through them into the tie. The lining is given additional flanges or lips 16, 17 designed to rest upon the top surface of the tie, the lip 17 being penetrated by the spike 10.

If the tie seems liable to split, a yoke or band 19 may be fastened over it at one or more points, as shown in Fig. 1.

As is clear from inspection of Fig. 1, the downward pressure of a wheel 20 on a rail 5 is resisted by the oblique surface 3 of the slot or notch 2, and by the termination of the notch as engaged by the edge of the rail flange 7. When the car is rounding a sharp curve and the consequent outward pressure of the wheel flange against the rail tends to overturn the latter, the notch overhang 6 holds the rail firmly in place.

Further, since the overhang 6 holds one edge of the rail flange down, no'other fastening device is needed thereat, and hencebut a single spike 10 is required for the opposite flange-edge, and the number of spikes is reduced to but two for each tie.

'Ihe notches 2 being sawed in the ties before they are dumped beside the roadbed, and by a properly adjusted machine, the two notches in each tie are accurately spaced, and the rails when laid therein are automatically located the required distance apart.

The lateral pressure of the wheel flange against the rail cannot cause the latter to spread, since the resultant of the downward and lateral pressures will be well within a perpendicular to the surfaces 3 of the notches.

The purpose of the metal lining 12 is two fold; its most import-ant one is to protect the wood of the ties from the rust washed down from the rails, and so to lengthen the life of the ties. A second is to help bind the overhang 6 to the lower section of the tie and so to resistany splitting of the overhangs.

In` the form of the inventionillustrated in Fig. 3, the metal lining 12 is dispensed With and the rail permitted to contact directly with the Wooden tie.

vWha-t I claim is:

1. rIhe combination with a track rail having a bottom flange, of a tie therefor having f a notch in its upper surface near its end, the ynotch having a side oblique tosaid surface for receiving said bottom iiange, the other side of the notch overhanging one edgeof said flange, and a spike driven into the tie and holding theother edge oi the flange.

2. The combination With a track rail hav- Copies ofthis] patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the ing a bottom flange, and a Web oblique thereto, of a tie having' a notch in its upper surface, a side of the notch being oblique to the top surface of the tie to receive said bottom flange andl support the rail With its Web vertical.

3. The combination with a track rail having a bottom flange, of a. tie having an oblique notch, a metallic lining fitting said notch on each side thereof, said flange resting in said lining and being overhung at one edge by one side kofthe notch, and a spike holding the other edge.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing invention, I have hereunto set my hand this 2nd day of July, 1918.

DAVID HOFFNER.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

